Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY) Key Metrics
LWAY valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $333.7M
- Enterprise value
- $370.7M
- P/E (TTM)
- 32.0 10-yr median 34.6
- Forward P/E
- 29.9
- PEG ratio
- 3.50
- Price / sales
- 1.4 10-yr median 1.0
- Price / book
- 4.2 10-yr median 2.3
- EV / EBITDA
- 18.5 10-yr median 16.6
- Dividend yield
- —
- Beta
- 0.47
LWAY key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsLWAY valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
LWAY returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
LWAY per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
LWAY financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
LWAY efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
LWAY valuation history
LWAY returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
LWAY debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
LWAY cash returned to shareholders
LWAY price vs earnings per share
LWAY key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $376.5M | $378.6M | $202.5M | $87.2M | $71.0M | $85.3M | $31.4M | $30.7M | $128.8M | $186.0M |
| Enterprise value | $371.4M | $362.0M | $192.3M | $89.5M | $68.0M | $80.5M | $31.1M | $33.7M | $130.1M | $184.3M |
| P/E ratio | 27.2 | 41.9 | 17.8 | 94.4 | 21.4 | 26.4 | 69.4 | — | — | 53.5 |
| Price / sales | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Price / book | 4.4 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.8 |
| Price / free cash flow | — | 60.4 | 16.1 | 162.1 | 19.5 | 19.0 | 11.9 | — | — | 99.6 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 34.4 | 29.2 | 12.0 | 21.9 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 8.3 | 12.7 | 33.8 | 36.4 |
| EV / sales | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| EV / EBITDA | 15.6 | 20.7 | 9.5 | 17.6 | 7.9 | 9.8 | 6.5 | 77.1 | 51.0 | 20.8 |
| EV / free cash flow | — | 57.8 | 15.3 | 166.3 | 18.7 | 17.9 | 11.8 | — | — | 98.7 |
| Earnings yield | 3.7% | 2.4% | 5.6% | 1.1% | 4.7% | 3.8% | 1.4% | −10.1% | −0.3% | 1.9% |
| Free cash flow yield | −4.4% | 1.7% | 6.2% | 0.6% | 5.1% | 5.3% | 8.4% | −1.3% | −1.2% | 1.0% |
| Dividend yield | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | — | — | 0.0% | 4.6% | 2.2% | 0.5% | 1.7% | 4.5% | 1.2% | 0.4% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $24.23 | $24.80 | $13.41 | $5.55 | $4.60 | $5.41 | $1.99 | $1.88 | $8.00 | $11.51 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $13.68 | $12.24 | $10.60 | $9.01 | $7.71 | $6.47 | $5.93 | $6.33 | $7.38 | $7.67 |
| Earnings per share | $0.89 | $0.59 | $0.75 | $0.06 | $0.21 | $0.20 | $0.03 | −$0.19 | −$0.02 | $0.22 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $0.70 | $0.85 | $1.12 | $0.25 | $0.36 | $0.40 | $0.24 | $0.15 | $0.24 | $0.32 |
| Free cash flow per share | −$1.06 | $0.41 | $0.83 | $0.03 | $0.24 | $0.28 | $0.17 | −$0.02 | −$0.10 | $0.12 |
| Cash per share | $0.36 | $1.10 | $0.87 | $0.28 | $0.60 | $0.50 | $0.24 | $0.18 | $0.31 | $0.55 |
| Book value per share | $5.52 | $4.71 | $4.00 | $3.03 | $3.18 | $2.97 | $2.74 | $2.60 | $2.89 | $2.99 |
| Tangible book value per share | $4.40 | $3.53 | $2.77 | $1.81 | $1.91 | $2.08 | $1.92 | $1.79 | $1.96 | $2.02 |
| Dividends per share | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Capex per share | $1.76 | $0.44 | $0.29 | $0.22 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.07 | $0.17 | $0.33 | $0.20 |
| Debt per share | $0.03 | $0.01 | $0.19 | $0.42 | $0.40 | $0.20 | $0.22 | $0.37 | $0.39 | $0.44 |
| Shares outstanding | 15.5M | 15.3M | 15.1M | 15.7M | 15.4M | 15.8M | 15.8M | 16.3M | 16.1M | 16.2M |
| Change in shares outstanding | +1.8% | +1.1% | −3.9% | +1.8% | −2.1% | −0.2% | −3.2% | +1.3% | −0.3% | −1.0% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 17.6% | 13.6% | 21.0% | 1.9% | 6.9% | 7.2% | 1.1% | −6.9% | −0.7% | 7.4% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 16.7% | 17.0% | 23.2% | 2.5% | 7.9% | 7.8% | −2.2% | −5.3% | −0.9% | 8.2% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 14.1% | 10.4% | 15.0% | 1.3% | 5.0% | 5.4% | 0.8% | −5.1% | −0.5% | 5.3% |
| Return on tangible assets | 15.7% | 12.5% | 17.8% | 1.9% | 6.5% | 6.7% | 1.0% | −7.1% | −0.7% | 6.9% |
| Free cash flow margin | −7.7% | 3.4% | 7.9% | 0.4% | 3.1% | 4.4% | 2.8% | −0.4% | −1.3% | 1.5% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 0.79 | 1.44 | 1.49 | 4.31 | 1.68 | 1.98 | 8.41 | — | — | 1.47 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $466,000 | $117,000 | $2.9M | $6.7M | $6.2M | $3.1M | $3.5M | $6.0M | $6.3M | $7.1M |
| Cash & short-term investments | $5.6M | $16.7M | $13.2M | $4.4M | $9.2M | $7.9M | $3.8M | $3.0M | $5.0M | $8.8M |
| Net debt | −$5.1M | −$16.6M | −$10.3M | $2.2M | −$3.0M | −$4.8M | −$318,000 | $3.0M | $1.3M | −$1.7M |
| Debt / equity | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.15 |
| Debt / assets | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.04 | 0.10 | 0.09 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.11 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.22 | −0.95 | −0.51 | 0.44 | −0.35 | −0.59 | −0.07 | 6.86 | 0.51 | −0.19 |
| Current ratio | 2.23 | 2.81 | 2.30 | 2.07 | 2.41 | 2.85 | 2.02 | 2.54 | 1.87 | 3.01 |
| Quick ratio | 1.51 | 2.25 | 1.75 | 1.33 | 1.72 | 2.03 | 1.34 | 1.76 | 1.29 | 2.15 |
| Interest coverage | 210.0 | 131.9 | 44.3 | 8.8 | 50.7 | 41.7 | -7.8 | -11.5 | -2.2 | 27.7 |
| Working capital | $20.4M | $28.1M | $21.6M | $13.9M | $17.0M | $15.6M | $9.7M | $11.5M | $11.5M | $18.8M |
| Invested capital | $80.7M | $55.3M | $50.2M | $49.8M | $46.1M | $42.0M | $42.9M | $45.4M | $47.9M | $46.7M |
| Tangible asset value | $68.3M | $53.8M | $41.8M | $28.4M | $29.4M | $32.9M | $30.3M | $29.2M | $31.5M | $32.6M |
| Net current asset value | $17.3M | $25.0M | $16.0M | $5.5M | $7.3M | $8.9M | $3.9M | $4.5M | $6.8M | $10.7M |
| Graham number | $10.53 | $7.92 | $8.23 | $2.00 | $3.92 | $3.70 | $1.33 | — | — | $3.81 |
| Graham net-net per share | $0.27 | $0.95 | $0.39 | −$0.23 | −$0.06 | $0.14 | −$0.17 | −$0.11 | −$0.05 | $0.17 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $0 | $0 |
| Share buybacks (net) | — | — | $0 | $4.0M | $1.6M | $405,000 | $538,000 | $1.4M | $1.5M | $738,000 |
| Dividend payout ratio | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | — | — | 0.0% | 742.9% | 43.5% | 9.0% | 20.4% | — | — | 39.5% |
| Capex / revenue | 12.9% | 3.6% | 2.7% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2.7% | 4.5% | 2.6% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 249.9% | 51.7% | 25.7% | 86.5% | 34.5% | 29.7% | 30.9% | 116.8% | 140.3% | 63.4% |
| Capex / depreciation | 6.87 | 1.98 | 1.38 | 1.16 | 0.67 | 0.59 | 0.35 | 0.81 | 1.72 | 1.07 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.9% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| SG&A / revenue | 19.5% | 18.3% | 15.6% | 16.9% | 19.1% | 21.4% | 25.5% | 26.2% | 25.7% | 22.8% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 28.1 | 29.2 | 28.8 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.6 | 31.9 | 35.4 | 32.1 | 29.2 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 24.3 | 23.5 | 29.1 | 28.5 | 30.7 | 32.4 | 31.2 | 31.8 | 32.6 | 32.3 |
| Days payables outstanding | 25.3 | 26.9 | 27.8 | 23.2 | 24.7 | 26.4 | 25.1 | 26.9 | 26.0 | 29.0 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 27.1 | 25.8 | 30.0 | 32.8 | 33.6 | 33.5 | 38.0 | 40.3 | 38.7 | 32.5 |
| Receivables turnover | 13.00 | 12.48 | 12.66 | 13.27 | 13.26 | 13.24 | 11.42 | 10.31 | 11.36 | 12.49 |
| Payables turnover | 14.41 | 13.57 | 13.11 | 15.73 | 14.81 | 13.81 | 14.52 | 13.57 | 14.04 | 12.59 |
| Inventory turnover | 15.00 | 15.55 | 12.56 | 12.81 | 11.88 | 11.27 | 11.71 | 11.47 | 11.21 | 11.31 |
| Asset turnover | 2.17 | 2.16 | 2.11 | 2.02 | 1.79 | 1.69 | 1.62 | 1.70 | 1.82 | 1.89 |
| Average receivables | $16.3M | $15.0M | $12.6M | $10.7M | $9.0M | $7.7M | $8.2M | $10.0M | $10.5M | $9.9M |
| Average payables | $10.7M | $10.2M | $9.0M | $7.3M | $6.1M | $5.4M | $4.9M | $5.7M | $6.3M | $7.1M |
| Average inventory | $10.3M | $8.9M | $9.4M | $9.0M | $7.6M | $6.7M | $6.1M | $6.8M | $7.9M | $7.9M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 16.6% | 19.9% | 22.5% | 27.7% | 27.8% | 22.6% | 22.2% | 23.2% | 23.3% | 23.9% |
Computed from LWAY's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed March 17, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
LWAY valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), Lifeway Foods traded at 27.2 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 34.6. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 32.0 and the forward P/E is 29.9. Lifeway Foods earned a return on equity of 17.6% and a return on invested capital of 16.7% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $0.5 million of debt and $5.6 million in cash and short-term investments, a net cash position of $5.1 million. The share count fell 3.8% from 16.2M to 15.5M over 9 years.
See the LWAY income statement, the LWAY chart for price history, or the LWAY stock overview for the latest quote and news.
LWAY key metrics FAQ
What is Lifeway Foods's P/E ratio?
Lifeway Foods's trailing P/E ratio is 32.0 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 29.9. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 27.2, compared with a 10-year median of 34.6.
What is Lifeway Foods's EV/EBITDA?
Lifeway Foods's enterprise value was 15.6 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $371.4 million, EBITDA $23.7 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 18.5.
What is Lifeway Foods's return on equity?
Lifeway Foods's return on equity (ROE) was 17.6% in fiscal 2025: net income of $13.9 million on average shareholders' equity of $78.9 million.
What is Lifeway Foods's ROIC?
Lifeway Foods's return on invested capital was 16.7% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Lifeway Foods have?
Lifeway Foods had total debt of $0.5 million at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01 and more cash than debt.
What is Lifeway Foods's free cash flow yield?
Lifeway Foods generated -$16.4 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of −4.4% on its market value at year-end ($376.5 million).
What is Lifeway Foods's current ratio?
Lifeway Foods's current ratio was 2.23 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 2.23 times current liabilities.